And They Were Roommates

The Martinez House

"It's now or never. You ready?" Those words hit me like a freight train. This whole time I was excited, but now that we're here, the nerves finally kicked in. I have never met someone's parents before. Besides friends, that was different, though. Now that I was thinking about what I actually signed up for, it was crazy. We've only been dating for a month, and I was going to meet his family. You could argue that it was longer because it was like we were dating when I was still with Charlie. It was too late to back out now. I took a deep breath to calm myself and nodded. I went to grab the handle, but before I could open the door, Samuel locked it.

"Listen, I don't know how any of this is going to go, but promise me you'll keep me in check." I leaned over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Of course." We got out of the car and walked up to the front door. It took a second, but Samuel got the courage to ring the doorbell. It felt like we were waiting at the door for the longest time. I rubbed his back because I knew he was freaking out.

"I'm gonna call my mom." Right as he pulled his phone out, the door swung open. "Sammy! My baby!" I tried to keep myself from laughing but let out a small giggle. She was surprisingly tall, taller than me, at least. I would have thought Samuel would look just like her. The only thing they had in common was their hair color and nose shape. She engulfed him into a big hug. I started to feel awkward at some point because she had been hugging him for a long time. Once she finally let go, she looked over at me and smiled. "You must be Hunter? Sammy talks about you all the time when we talk on the phone." I couldn't help but blush.

"Come in. You boys must be hungry. I made a big breakfast just for you, Sammy." She started to head inside, and we followed behind her. The whole house smelled like a typical breakfast diner. While the house looked small from the outside, it sure was big on the inside. Once we got to the kitchen, I found all the food that was causing a pleasant smell. There was a massive stack of pancakes, a plate full of bacon and eggs, and a tray of what looked like chocolate chip muffins.

"You made all of this for us?" I asked, astonished at the amount of food. Samuel's mom laughed, which threw me off. I didn't want to be rude, so I waited for Samuel to grab food first. I kind of just followed him because I didn't know where everything was. I mean, I didn't want to look like a fool looking for the kitchen utensils. 

"Hunter, why don't you sit down. I'll get you a plate." I wasn't going to argue with him, so I did what he said. Plus, I liked being taken care of. When I sat at the table, I could hear someone coming down from the stairs. I was starting to lose my cool. Don't get me wrong; I was nervous meeting Sam's mom, but once she said he talks about me, my nerves went away. 

I couldn't help but look towards the approaching footsteps. It was an older man, around the same age as Sam's mom. He was dressed up in a navy blue suit that worked well with his graying hair. When he entered the kitchen, I could feel there was tension. He glanced over at me for a second but didn't say anything. "Nancy, you never told me Samuel was coming. Or that he was bringing a friend over." His tone was very stern. 

Samuel's mom took the mystery man anyway to another room. I looked over at Sam, and he was coming to sit next to me. "Your dad is pretty nice," I say jokingly. "Frank, isn't my dad." Great, I'm already messing things up. Our meal was quiet after that. I wanted to apologize, but I didn't know how to.

The silence was soon broken by who I now know is Frank. "Hey, kid. How's college going?" Once again, silence. I was trying to see how Sam was, but it was hard. He put up walls, and I couldn't see over them even if I tried. Since he obviously wasn't getting a response, Frank looked over at me. "What about you? You must go to school with Samuel. How is it?" I looked over to Frank with a smile. "It's a great school. I really enjoy going there. I'm Hunter, by the way." He simply just nodded.